


The Only Exception

by earth_bent



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), F/F, Fluff, My First Fanfic, Paramore - Freeform, mostly - Freeform, the only exception
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 00:01:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15012287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earth_bent/pseuds/earth_bent
Summary: Just some Paramore inspired fluff where Annabeth teaches Rachel what home feels like.





	The Only Exception

Having to listen to the drivers poorly chosen playlist of moldy rock and vaguely offensive rap songs was beyond irritating, but Rachel was used to it.

_“I mean c’mon man, Eminem? Seriously? You’re better than this”_ She thought to herself as she stared blankly out the window

But after all, there wasn’t the slightest chance of her father letting her drive herself anywhere ( _“You might get kidnapped! I will not go bankrupt negotiating with criminals because you got yourself snatched up somewhere.”_ ), so the redhead had grown accustomed to being driven from place to place like a child.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, dad” She grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes at the memory.

“Did you say something Ms. Dare?” The driver asked, shooting her an understanding smile as if to say _“Listen kid, I know you hate this, but have I ever told you how revolutionary ‘2112’ by rush was to the rock game?”_

“No Hank” She answered with a small smile, it was all she could muster through her annoyance. “Just thinking out loud is all”

Rachel sighed, sitting back in her seat and putting in her earbuds, fending off stray curls of copper hair with a sideways breath before scrolling through her favorite playlist to distract herself.

_Florence and the machine?_ No, not right now at least. Too peaceful.

_Panic! At the disco?_ No, too emo. She wasn’t THAT deep in her teenage angst towards her father.

_ACDC?_ No, she was pretty sure that made up 60% of Hank’s playlist, and that is too much classic rock for one girl to handle.

_Paramore?_ There we go. Perfect.

She gave a small smile as she scrolled through all of the albums she had from the musical goddess that was Hayley Williams. ( She didn’t give that title lightly, you know since she had met _ACTUAL_ gods). Finally she found the right song and closed her eyes, letting the guitar strum drown out the traffic of Manhattan.

_“Up until now I had sworn to myself that I’m content with loneliness ‘cause none of it was ever worth the risk”_

Rachel smiled again, memories of blush stained cheeks and accidental hand touches flashes through her mind as she began to think of her life before her girlfriend, Annabeth, had come and turned it all upside down.

_“I’ve got a tight grip on reality but I can’t let go of what’s in front of me here, I know you’re leaving in the morning when you wake up- leave me with some kind of proof it’s not a dream”_

That part tugged at her heart as she thought about all the stolen kisses between fighting classes or obstacle courses, the long nights spent trying to etch every detail of each other into their minds before early morning goodbyes for the school year. She opened her phone to their facebook messages (Annabeth NEVER texted as phones were too risky for demigods to use, so they had to use facebook messenger that the blonde girl could get from her laptop.)

“Gods, Annabeth you’re such a dork” Rachel giggled to herself as she scrolled past architecture memes that her girlfriend had created and sent to her with the caption “lol” which made it infinitely more dorky, but somehow equally as adorable.

She replayed the song as the car pulled up to her family’s house, opening the door and waving goodbye to Hank. As he pulled away he rolled up the window and cranked some band that he’d told her about a million times- what was it called? Larry Skinny? No, Lynyrd Skynyrd, that was it. She smiled and rolled her eyes, beginning the winding paved walk up to her front door.  
She paused the song mid-verse as she opened the door and sighed. This was definitely a house, that was for sure, but whether or not it was a home was still up for debate. There was a distinct lack of anything _personal_. No childhood artwork, no plants, no clothes strewn around the room haphazardly, just the overwhelming presence of overpriced decor and dysfunctional family dynamics.

“I’m home!” Rachel said, half expecting it to go unanswered, but instead from around the corner her mother appeared

“Oh!” Her mother said, her tone mirroring that of someone that had just crossed paths with a stray dog. “I didn’t even know you’d left”

Rachel forced a smile, deciding it would be better to play along with her mother rather than start a fight and ruin her good mood. She nodded curtly, faking a few more pleasantries with Mrs. Dare before peeling herself away and escaping upstairs. She hit play once again and smiled as Paramore continued strumming happily in her ear singing of love and other sickeningly sweet things, making a light blush creep across her cheeks as she thought about the months she’d spend with the seemingly perfect Annabeth Chase.  
Finally she reached her hallway, _yes hallway_. Her parents had bought a house with entirely too much space for just the three of them, therefore there was more than enough room for Rachel to have her own bedroom, bathroom, and just about anything else she could need. As she opened the door the familiar scent of acrylic paint and her favorite perfume washed over her, bringing the first faint feelings of home she’d had since stepping into the house.

“How did Hayley Williams ever get to be so perfect anyways?” She thought aloud as he closed her door and shed her jean jacket. She placed it on the back of her chair and thought for a moment about whether or not it was now resting in wet paint, however she was quickly snapped out of her wondering as a voice broke the silence.

“Wow, I come all the way to New York to see my girl only to find out that her heart’s been stolen by one of the Apollo girls? How can I ever go on!” The voice teased from behind her, causing Rachel to suppress a scream and trip over herself as she turned to look at the girl.

In front of her stood a girl that was equally as beautiful as she was smart. With blonde hair that fell just past her shoulder blades and a confidence about her that practically screamed _“Go ahead and try something. I dare you. I know how to kill you with a pen cap and a shoelace before you can even yell for mommy”_. Rachel was hooked.

“Hades Chase! You nearly scared the spirit of Delphi right out of me! How did you even get in here?” Rachel said, placing her hand over her chest to try and calm the heart attack her annoyingly attractive girlfriend had given her

Annabeth laughed so hard that tears formed in the corners of her steely grey eyes and Rachel couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the other girl. Her blonde hair was braided together over one shoulder, and she wore a sweatshirt that Rachel recognized as her own. She thought about trying to steal it back, but she just shook her head and laughed.

“I came in through the window” Annabeth said as if it was as simple as coming through the front door. She walked over towards Rachel, having finally recovered from her giggle fit. “You should really lock those by the way, what if a maniac snuck in?” she asked. Her eyes her grey like storm clouds, but looking into them felt like sipping warm hot chocolate in the middle of a snow storm to Rachel.

“I think I’m looking at one right now” Rachel teased, closing the gap to wrap the blonde girl into a hug. “I missed you Annabeth” She said, placing her chin on the other girls shoulder and closing her eyes as if trying to save this feeling for the rest of her life

Annabeth wrapped her arms around Rachel and smiled, kissing the top of her head and cheek before pulling away just enough to see her girlfriends face

“Did you miss me?” She said with a smirk, pretending to be hurt when Rachel swatted her hip and pouted

“Of course I missed you dummy! You’ve been practically off the grid because of finals and I think I almost died” Rachel said with a huff, nearly letting go of Annabeth to cross her arms in fake annoyance, but the thought of letting go wasn’t worth it.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow before smiling wide, her perfect teeth and gorgeous lips making Rachel’s heart stop for a moment. She put her index finger under the shorter girls chin before whispering  
“I guess I have a lot to make up for then huh? I mean since you almost died without me and all” Annabeth said, her lips moving closer to the redheads until Rachel could practically feel the gentle puffs of air with every word.

Electricity seemed to flow between the two girls, every nerve in Rachel’s body stood on edge as she waited for Annabeth’s next move.

“Yeah definitely” She whispered “I think you’ll have to stay here for at least a week. Just to make sure you didn’t miss anything y'know?” Rachel said, leaning forward slightly hoping to connect their lips but Annabeth teased backwards with a smirk

“Just for that reason Dare? Or is there something else you want me to stay for?” Annabeth questioned, keeping her lips frustratingly just out of range for Rachel

The shorter girl huffed, but couldn’t suppress a smile

“There might be another reason. Just maybe though” She said shrugging, but she was unable to keep the blush from spreading over her pale cheeks

“And what might that reason be?” Annabeth asked, enjoying every second of torturing her impatient girlfriend

Rachel had had enough. Sighing and looking into the other girls eyes she said

“Because I’m in love with you, dummy” before pulling the blonde into a searing kiss and allowing herself to get lost in the absolute happiness that is life with Annabeth Chase.

Rachel’s house was cold and distant, no matter how hard she tried she never felt at home, but here in Annabeth’s arms she caught a glimpse of what a home feels like. Warm and accepting, the vague smell of her girlfriend’s vanilla perfume threatened to engulf Rachel in a sea of sappy love songs and hearts drawn in the corners of all her papers, but she was okay with that. She was perfectly okay with staying here entangled with Annabeth for the rest of her days if it meant she never again had to feel the cold emptiness of feeling alone in a house full of people. She had never known exactly what home feels like, but at the very least she knew that being here with Annabeth felt the closest she’d ever come

**Author's Note:**

> hi so this is my first work! i apologize if it's awful but id love some feedback or comments! i mostly write f/f works, but possibly in the future id be interested in branching out a little if there are any suggestions that really inspire me!


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